The demon inside us
by Lamorakon
Summary: People always think that demons are the bad guys, those that have been thrown out of the glorious heavens to rot beneath the earth... However, what if... they weren't? What if... we were told to think that to manipulate us...? How would the world turn when we knew the real truth behind Gods, angels and Demons?
1. Chapter 1 - An unholy graduation

Rain fell out of the dark clouds above me. Pools formed before my feet, splashing in all directions when my feet pushed through the rippled surface. I quickly threw a stealthy look behind me. My breath went rapid as I continued running through the small alleys. Dirt mingled with the small stream running down the tilted streets as I followed the water to the nearest exit. My long black coat waved flowed behind me, wet hair framing my young face. My dark blue eyes frantically scanned my surroundings, trying to find anything that might suggest I have been caught by it. A loud gasp forced its way through my throat as I arrived in the central marketplace.

A huge circle, covered in wet concrete and polished granite slabs. Houses surrounded the otherwise empty marketplace. No soul was present. Only me and my pursuers, whatever that was… Speaking of the devil, a dark mist crawled from one of the small alleys behind me and tried to ram me. I shrieked and narrowly dodged the incoming mist. The cloudy substance landed straight unto a house, demolishing it in the process. The only thing that remained in its wake was some smouldering wreckage of wooden pillars and a couple of crushed stone slabs. The dark smoke raced towards the thundering sky, seemingly untouched by the downpour unleashed from the heavens. It disappeared into the cloud before crashing down towards me again. Two small red dots stared into my dark blue eyes before I jumped away. I stumbled, landing with my back in a big pool of water. I shivered, feeling the water easily drench my clothes. The strong wind that raced through the streets didn't help anything to keep my body warm.

"Oh , come on! Just my luck!" I yelled loudly before turning tail and quickly jumping behind a set of wooden benches, grunting as water splashed in my face again. I spit the fluids back out and rubbed the remaining drool away with the back of my scratched hand. I coughed. Should've gone to the gym more often! I grunted as I pushed myself on my feet again, only to be stared down by the scorching red dots of my pursuer. I gulped. I stumbled backwards before turning around and quickly sprinting towards a nearby alley to my left. It was my last chance… and it was nowhere near enough. A wave of dark mist rolled over the concrete, cracking it with ease and stopping me dead in my tracks.

"Tsk! So it has a brain… How annoying…" I slowly said, looking around frantically as I searched for a new way to escape… The window! I quickly stepped towards the window and threw myself through it. I yelped in pain, feeling the sharp shards cut into my flesh like it was mere butter. I rolled over the wooden floor, seeing the mist slowly flow into the window. This was my chance, I thought. I turned around, facing the door. My eyes fixated on the brass doorknob as I flew against the door. My fingers hastily grasped at the cold metal and pulled as hard as I could. I flew backwards, the knob following suit between my stressed fingers.

"Shit…" I sighed , seeing the mist flow past my shocked eyes. It ignored me and began fiddling with the lock of the door. The mist seemed to push against the fragile wood and not even a mere second later, cracks started to appear. Seconds after that, the door got shattered in thousand pieces. I gasped loudly, covered my face with my coat to protect it against the flying debris. I was horrified some of the splinters had the power to pierce through my leather enforced coat! I gulped, seeing the mist stride into the destroyed room. It came across a wooden table and chairs before those sunk into its dark clutches and disappeared without a trace. I was surrounded by the dark smoke as it rolled around me, inching closer to me.

"Great, someone needs to lay off the cigars!" I grunted before rolling with my eyes, looking around me for an opening to escape. But no such luck. I felt my face growing cold as blood rushed away from my cheeks. I stared right in front of me as the mist grew like a wave. The two red dots appeared again and stared me down. They were unflinching, relentless in their gaze and never blinking even once. I licked me dry lips, knowing there was no talking out of this one… The mist inched ever closer, almost touching the tips of my leather shoes. I shrieked slightly , stepping backwards. A sizzling sound made me freeze. My eyes went wide when I threw a quick glance behind my shoulders. The mist was busy eating the hem of my coat. I quickly grasped at the long coat, pulling it away from the mist. I swore I could hear a weird grumbling noise coming out of the dark clutches of the smoke surrounding me. Weird.

Suddenly, the mist began to shudder. It froze in the air, not moving at all. It just… lied there, sometimes a plume of black smoke rising towards the heavens, taking parts of the wooden ceiling with it. Then, the smoke shivered and began swirling around me. Faster and faster. The eyes got taken as well by the current, creating a thin red line as they swirled all around me. I got dizzy trying to follow them so decided on just staring in front of me instead. I sighed, trying to calm my thumping heart and my jagged breath as much as I could. If this was it… Better face it like a proud human, I thought. I straightened my half-eaten coat , feeling the wind swelling once again as the mist began twirling more and more. I started sweating as it became quite hot inside the misty circle. I thought I heard whispers around me but I must be mistaken. A dead man's thought are never worth considering… , I rambled on to myself. Slowly , the mist enveloped my legs. My heart jumped to the top of my head and back when I started sinking into its seemingly endless darkness. I didn't dare to look down, not wanting to see how far gone I already was… The whispers seemed to come closer and louder the further I sunk in the dark smoke. Its depth was immeasurable, yet I didn't feel any pain. My limbs got swallowed by the dark clouds, yet nothing resembling pain entered my brain. Maybe I am too afraid to notice anything, I said to myself as the mist passed my hips.

It began to devour my hands , easily pulling them under its dark blanket before continuing in its endless hunger. My eyes and those freaky red dots of the mist came at the same level. A deep laugh bellowed from underneath me for just an instant. I barely heard it, not even consciously taking note of it but it firmly attached itself on my psyche. I heard it echoing behind every thought I had, without me fully understanding it sounded between the confines of my thick skull. By now, the mist had risen above my chest and was making its way towards my chin. It swirled more and more, resembling a hurricane right about now. When it came over my nose, the mist stopped swirling and created a huge wave of itself. It towered above me , darkening the grey sky above me before gazing down upon me. The dots glowed like small, scorching hot coals in a bed of black ash. Almost reaching my eyes, the mist had decided it was enough. Without making a sound, it came crashing down. Its whole smoky mass rammed into me and fully submerged me in darkness. It was not the experience I thought it would be. My body flared up in heat before feeling stone cold. A massive blast of air pushed me against something that was as hard as diamond. Darkness was all around me, no speckle of light to be found. I was not falling, but not going up either. I remained stationary in the pitch-black darkness… A small dot of light flickered weakly on my chest. It tried illuminating my surroundings to no avail.

Suddenly, I felt a massive pressure pushing again every inch of my body. The pressure was relentless, easily cutting of my breathing and beginning to push my chest inwards. I was getting nauseous of being in this stationary position. My mind didn't know where up or down was, and I couldn't even check. I couldn't see any of my limbs, the light not even helping one little bit. Great, after a power outage in my house , a power outage in my own body as well! The pressure increased, pushing against my ribs like a massive hand trying to crush me. I couldn't breathe anymore as the light diminished. The darkness began crawling closer to the light, completely encircling it .

Now, all of the pressure was focused on that little tiny spot on my chest. The light tried its best to grow, shining defiantly against all odds. But it was futile. The darkness closed in and began pushing the light away from my chest. Bit by bit, the light began moving to my left side. It inched further and further away from as darkness washed all over it. And suddenly, it cracked. The cracks began deepening in a white colour. The pressure on my body steadily increased, the darkness swirling around me in a gentle fashion while pounding down upon the tiny orb of light. And then, it cracked completely. It shattered in a million tiny pieces, easily swallowed by the endless darkness surrounding me. I was all alone now. But I couldn't have cared less. I had passed out from the increasing pressure on my bones who were creaking. The darkness swallowed everything around as I lost consciousness, missing the deep voice echoing through the thick darkness.

"Finally… Now, it is finally time!"

"Wagh!" I yelled loudly as I jumped awake, bumping my head into my overhead drawer and falling back into my cushions, rubbing over my forehead. I groaned in pain, punching the hard wood with my fist to exact vengeance upon it. I grumbled, my fingers brushing through my unkept hair. My dark blue eyes averted the harsh ray of sunlight that slithered its way into my room through the cotton blinds. Dust reflected the light like little particles of diamonds spread through the air. I rubbed my temples, trying to clear the murk of my slumber. That dream again… As long as I could remember it, I had that weird running sequence, including the pressure… Never that vivid, however! And never that "jumping through a window"-thing, either! I smiled to myself. Kinda looked like a movie, which did sound badass to me! I snickered at my own humour and threw a laze look at the electronic clock standing on a bedside table. It said half past eight. It took a couple of seconds before my mind comprehended what it really said. I overslept! For my own graduation ceremony even! I quickly stumbled into my bathroom, running over some textbooks in the process: "Theory on Magic Principles", "Angelic Orders" and a book that told about how magic changed the way we all thought. We humans were the last to discover magic. Elves, Aquaria and the Desertique all mocked us for our incompetence in the past. But now that we had discovered magic a bit short of thirty years ago, their laughs had all faded.

I quickly jumped into the shower and felt the warm water rush over my body. The murk in my eyes that accumulated when I slept was easily swept away by the hot torrent of water. I quickly jumped out of the shower cabin and hurriedly dried myself. I stumbled into my bedroom and almost jumped into my clothes. A comfortable shirt and jeans pants along with some thin socks, and I was good to go. I practically jumped from the staircase, almost slipping my way down. I could barely catch myself, my fingers clawing into the glazed wood. I swung past the door, my shoes not even properly on and sprinted towards the underground. I dashed past commuters and businesspeople, jumping into the last carriage of the underground before a mechanized beeping noise signalled the doors to close. Seconds later, the carriage moved silently towards its destination.

I held myself up with the help of a steel pole attached to both the ceiling and plastic floor as the train raced through the tunnels. According to what I've heard, it moved using waves generated deep in this planet's core and were brought up through thick rubber cables to power these long machines. A woman beside me, dressed neatly in a business outfit consisting of a black pair of pants and a white shirt with black tie. Golden buttons adorned the pristine white surface of her shirt as she turned the page of her newspaper. "Regalia's Tribune"… The most read newspaper in the country of humans, bearing the name of its capital and the city we were currently in. The headlines were made very big, white letters on a red background. "New Orders and Tiers of magic discovered by A.R Corporation!". Yeah, right…

That was the world I lived in right now. Inhabitants of this world derived their magical powers from Angels. All kinds of them. From normal angels, to 6-winged archangels and 12-winged cherubim. If you had an angel of a higher class, like an archangel, your powers would be exponentially bigger. That was another thing. We had split magic in several tiers, going from 0 up until 12 according to the ranks of angels that were currently known. All known magic was also divided in 7 trees, according to the elements they commanded: Pyrius, Aqua, Ventum, Gaea, Luxor and Nihilia. Or Fire, Water, Wind, earth, light and Nihil for the masses. Those last two were especially powerful due to their command over elements that weren't subject to as many laws of nature. Oh yes. Magic still has to bend to the laws of Physics although there have been some spells that seem to crush that belief beneath their heels. There was another element, Tenebris, but nobody wanted to be associated with that typing. Everyone learned, from the moment they were born to the moment they die, that darkness was bad and evil. I shrugged my shoulders when I thought about that. How bad could it be? I said, feeling a warm shiver traversing my skin.

**"****Next Destination: Luxor Academy and Empire Skyscraper"**. A mechanized voice announced, pulling me out of my daydreaming. I quickly leapt out of the door, accidently ramming some people. I hurried excused myself while jumping up the stairs and feeling a summer breeze stroke my face. The central plaza looked bustling as always. I pushed some people aside and ran into a small alley. It gave me a weird feeling of Deja-vu… I shook my head, the thoughts easily dissipating into nothingness as I took a right and then a left, arriving at the academy. I gulped. Now that I had finally arrived, and seemingly on time, I felt my nerves starting to take hold of me. I wanted to take a step forward, but a regal-sounding voice interrupted me.

"Move it, commoner! Let the worthy pass, you may breathe the same air as me, just for today." I grunted, stumbling as a regal dressed boy pushed me aside. Oh yeah… I was still in the same year as that stuck up rich prick Dreyfuss! Almost forgot about that airhead, I thought. Always full of himself, backed by one of the richest and therefore most influential families of the country as their beloved son, Dreyfuss Furlo. In my eyes, the only thing he is "First class" in is being a major pain in the ass and that is it! But well, can't argue with stone-cold money, I suppose…

"Wow, Dreyfuss…"I said in a voice dripping with poison. "That was a sentence with more words than usual! I didn't think that perfume-drowned brain of yours was capable of that!" I answered. The blonde boy looked at me with his dull brown eyes. But instead of his usual anger and rant about how his family was much greater than my non-existent lineage, he decided I wasn't worth his time today and just turned around.

The arrogant prick walked past me, not even excusing himself for his behaviour and completely ignoring me as he made his way over to the auditorium, followed by half an army of servants that attend to his every need. The only thing he left in his wake was a stale odour of a way too expensive yet putrid smelling deodorant…

I scratched my head, waiting before his stench disappeared from the air to follow his direction. I gulped, feeling my nerves play up more and more as I came closer and closer to the big auditorium. Word has it that the impressive, marble building had stood there since the dawn of time. I found that hard to believe. But for the graduates, this was not a mere auditorium anymore. This was the place where we would be judged by the Holy Orb to see what rank of angel we held within ourselves, to see what heights we could achieve, what tiers of magic we could command and what role we would play in this country. People with higher ranked angels like Cherubim most likely would want to go into the army. Or rather, they would be force to do so. Lower ranked angels like Dominions or Thrones would be used to help construction and research. Even lower angels like Powers would only be used in medical departments. The pay you received also raised exponentially according to your Angelic Rank, AR for short.

The familiar mouldy smell entered my nostrils as I took a seat in the rows destined for the graduates. Other students took the seat behind us as the graduates took their place up front. The stage up front was lighted by hovering yellowish orbs. When I looked at them, I noticed that the orbs were Tier 1 Luxor magic – Illumination. Normally, it would be attached to something. It was a testament of the magician that they were able to float freely like that. I slowly nodded to myself, seeing several people step up on the podium. I recognized Mrs. Leonard, an esteemed general in the army as well as several other people who I didn't recognize. Strict and beautiful, her black hair flowed behind her strictly dressed form. She wore the army's trademark uniform: a green though shirt with strong pants of the same colour. They all took a seat in a neat row facing the new graduates. The line was slightly curved towards a small, white marble pedestal in the middle of the stage.

The headmaster stepped upon the stage after all students had entered the grand building. A greying old man past his sixties, he was still quick and nimble on his feet. Maybe it was because he had a Seraphim called Arariel, an angel of the seventh order guiding him along in his life… He was guided by thundering applause, more from the other students than the graduates who began really feeling the nerves. A simple wave of his gloved hands silenced the entire building immediately before he grabbed a small suitcase from behind his back.

"Dear students, faculty members, and esteemed guests. We are here today, to celebrate a truly joyous occasion. These students, these potentials waiting to take root and bloom to their fullest extent, they will receive today the answer to the greatest question a student can have: What is my worth in this world?" Thunderous applause quickly ensued. I rolled with my eyes and sighed. I leaned back on my chair, looking at the grey sky through the coloured glass windows above me. This was the sixth time I heard this boring speech and decided I would make it easier upon myself to just close myself off to it. I looked at the floor, my nerves starting to take hold of my chest. I gulped, my throat feeling dry as applause quickly pulled me out of my nervous thoughts. I shook my head to clear my head and absentmindedly clapped along with the rest of the bunch.

"Now then, there is a time to exchange historic words… But that time is not now. I call forth all of the graduates of this year to make a line in orderly fashion at the end of the stage! The Ceremony shall now commence!" The headmaster announced , placing the small suitcase on the white pedestal and snapping its two locks open. The whole auditorium become silent in an instant. The headmaster reached into the small case before pulling out a translucent orb. It was seemingly made of glass, but everyone knew better. The Creator's orb, as it was called, was made of a material called Adamantite. It was a special kind of alloy, found in the deepest crevices in the remote mountainous regions of this country. It shimmered slightly, creating ripples in the air around it. This was the instrument that held the key to our future life, my future life! This thing will exactly say what rank of angel you possess, and thus the direction you were forced into… I disliked the system, but silently hoped on a powerful angel. Not to work in the army, I disliked conflict in general if it didn't serve a purpose, an army to annex parts of our neighbouring countries is among the reasons I counted as absolutely useless.

The orb got placed on a small, velvet cushion. One by one, the hopeful students walked upon the stage and touched the arm with the palm of their hands. When they did, their eyes flew wide open and a gust of wind rolled over the audience. The people watching the poor student in the front went dead silent as the orb began showing all kinds of symbols ranging from a simple triangle to complex three-dimensional figures. There were also some signs and detailed schematics rotating inside the transparent orb. Those were signs of private angelic beings, who choose a vessel to stay with until the end of their lifetime. Those people were extremely rare, but were known to rewrite history in all kinds of ways. Some came out disappointed, after having revealed they only have the potential to harness powers reaching up to Tier-3 magic and angels, while others were pleasantly surprised when they got the response they could control 7 or 8-tier magic! 9 and Ultimate-Tiers were extremely rare as the power stored in the angels that can command those ranks were extreme powerful and didn't seem too bent on guiding humans on their way. Fickle creatures, they.

Leaving behind a waft of his disgusting smelling perfume, Dreyfuss walked upon the stage with a regal stride. His leather boots, combined with his golden silk-embroidered gave him a chique aura, making me disgusted. He reached out his hand and confidently placed it upon the adamantite orb. The orb began to hum like before, glowing in yellowish hues as it began flipping through all kinds of schematics, and simple symbols. Dreyfuss looked at the orb, the schematics reflecting in his eyes. The orb shone even more brilliantly, before coming to a stop. My eyes went wide as I saw the mark that appeared in the orb. It was a circle, inscribed with ancient scripture. A private angel. The mark inside had a tilted eight , lying on its side in a golden hue. Two dots in each of the holes of the eight, and two triangles at the top and bottom of the circle. I had read many books about private angels, especially the higher-ranked ones! But this, this was a special one.

It was Netzach, one of the Eternal Guidors and a Rank-9 angel. Why did that stuck-up prick Dreyfuss get such a powerful angel, as his private angel even! I grunted, hearing shocked grunts and gasps cross through the air. Then they began to applaud the cocky boy on the stage. I rolled with my eyes. If that arrogant prick had not a reason to look down upon anyone, now he had received one! He bowed and got called by General Leonard when he stepped of the podium. I knew what that was about, everyone knew. Dreyfuss would be put in a high-ranking position automatically and get additional training to get his powers up to snuff as soon as possible… Great… The cocky boy looked at me with a poisonous gaze, making me put out my tongue. My name echoed throughout the auditorium, making me step unto the stage. Julian, that was my name. My heart bounced in my chest as I walked towards the translucent orb resting comfortably on the small cushion. I carefully raised my hand, hovering slightly above the glimmering surface. I took a deep breath, feeling hundreds of eyes directed at me, almost burning holes in my clothes. Finally, I placed my hand on the smooth surface. I was surprised how cool it actually felt, not like I had imagined it be.

Suddenly, I felt a surge of something starting at my hand and quickly racing through every fibre of my body. The markings and sigils of the angels were all displayed rapidly, one after another, right before my very eyes. My mind all took them in as I hoped on a strong angel. The feeling was now past my shoulders, filling my entire body and was making its way towards my head. However…

"Yeah, no. Let's not go that way, you can be much more than those white-feathered pigeons..."

A deep voice welled up from deep inside of me. I felt something pushing against the feeling, pushing it back into the orb. One teacher slowly raised herself, noticing something changing in my demeanour. I felt the corners of my mouth slowly going up, although I didn't want them to! Something was forcing my body to claw at the fragile orb in my hand while a savage power that was not my own forced everything back into the Creator's Orb. Then, A shock raced through my body. From the tip of my toes to the edges of my hair shuddered before releasing a dark mist. I gasped loudly when I saw the mist flowing before my very eyes, something about it felt really familiar.

"Let's do this!". The deep voice echoed again deep within my mind. Another shock rushed through my veins, making my body exude even more mist. The dark smoke easily rolled off the stage, making its way to the first row of spectators. But they were already running far away from the smoky newcomer. When the mist encountered the first row of chair, it just ignored them and continued on its merry way. The chair sunk slowly but not entirely, stopping halfway. The stage creaked as the mist began breaking down the wood and stone it touched. The orb began showing small cracks as my hand, following orders that were absolutely not coming from my own mind, began clawing deeper into the fragile material. More and more rolled from my body as I felt more and more power flowing into me. It felt like my body was charging itself using the poor orb cracking in my hands. Suddenly, I saw something moving in the corner of my eye.

"Unholy Breaker!". The headmaster made a massive jump over the swirling sea of dark mist and harshly slapped my hands. I yelled out in pain, the places he touched burning heavily. A yellowish glow spread on my wrists, like some kind of shackles. Tier 6 - Unholy breaker was a magic-stopping spell. It broke all connections that linked the person with the outside world, effectively severely limiting their magic powers. I yelled loudly in pain, quickly letting the orb fall back unto the pedestal before it rolled away from it, falling towards the dark clutches of the mist. Before it could even touch the Creator's orb, the headmaster jumped back to his original spot, plucking the orb out of the air when he did that. Quite agile for his age, I thought.

"Tsk, almost there…". The voice commanded. On that very moment, the mist froze in place. It didn't move an inch. A purple hue covered my sight before I momentarily felt my clothes change. Boots, a long coat and gloves. Those were the only things I could see through the dense, dark purple colour. After that instant, the mist began pulling back. My whole body felt hot and cold at the same time, the earth seemed to roll away from my feet and a massive gust almost blew me backwards. The dark smoke quickly retracted itself into my body, I could see and feel it! And it hurt like hell! It pulled itself back more and more. While it was busy doing that, the golden rings holding my magic captive began deteriorating. My eyes went wide when I noticed that. It was normally impossibly to reverse a spell without the correct countermeasures like a spell-binding artefact! But here, 'Unholy Breaker' got almost eaten by the hungry mist! The pain stopped when all of the mist was back inside of my body. I gasped for air , stumbling slightly on my feet. I had to keep myself from falling and grabbed the pedestal in front of me. I closed my eyes for a second. What just happened…? The mist… That voice…

"Yeah, I know! Quite the show, am I right or am I right ?". The voice mused again. I gasped, quickly looking around to see if someone had spoken a word. Everyone looked terrified at me, the fear in their eyes speaking louder than any insult they could've thrown at me. I gulped, carefully inspecting my hands. No gloves. No boots. Was… all of that a dream…?

"Good question! Turn around and do find out!". I suddenly felt several piercing gazed on my back, making me hastily turn around.

"I-I am -!". My words stopped dead in my throat as I saw the murderous gazes from General Leonard and the teachers behind her. I saw multiple elemental symbols getting readied, some of which were Tier – 5 or higher! This was dangerous… I gulped, grasping at the pedestal behind me. The voice in my head seemed to snicker lightly, seemingly knowing what I was about to do. There was no excusing this…

"I am… going to skedoodle out of here! See you!". I hurriedly said, turning around and immediately jumping away from the murderous mob. A scorching hot fireball, Pyrius Tier – 2 Flame Ball, nearly struck my unprotected back before a full wind blast, Ventum Tier 2- Gust Bullet, hit me square in the stomach. I spit out some saliva as I landed on the debris of chair and the cracked wooden floor. I coughed, holding my stomach area in pain. The air was pushed out of my lungs for just a second before I jumped back unto my feet. I groaned in pain, everything hurt! I threw one gaze backwards, seeing the teachers readying some more spells.

"Let's make a run for it!". The voice said, something I had to agree on. I jumped towards the exit, narrowly dodging a barrage of icicle spears , Aqua Tier 3- Ice Spear: Barrage, and rolling around a sand pit created by a Gaea Tier 4 – Sand Sucker before finally making it through the open doors.

But where to go next?


	2. Chapter 2 - Escaping the city!

My breathing was jagged as I hurriedly ran through the courtyard, narrowly dodging spells that were flung around my head. I jumped over a smouldering pool of lava, passing the remainders of the earlier spectators before passing the school gate. That was something! But I was not out of trouble yet! My eyes quickly scanned my surroundings, seeing the entrance to the underground railway station. I swallowed some spit before taking a deep breath, running as fast as I could towards the staircase that led underground. But before I could make it, I heard a rough voice echo over all other noise on the bustling marketplace.

"There he is! Cath him, at all costs, soldiers!". I quickly looked back, my eyes flying wide open. More than a dozen soldiers stood there, readying their rifles with magic- absorbing bullets. Courtesy of Luxor tier 4-Controlling Magic. I grunted, changing my mind on my feet as I grabbed a brass lantern, swung around and made a beeline for one of the small alleys leading away from the deadly firing squadron. By now, every citizen ran away in panic, creating enough chaos for me to at least get some more time to escape. By now, I felt a dull pain in my abdomen and leaned against a concrete wall of a house to rest up a bit. Slowly, my breath calmed down, but my heart didn't… I gulped, trying to get as much water back into my body…

"Are you tired already? Come on, boy, you really need to work on that condition of yours!". The voice cackled again. I groaned and rolled with my eyes. I was feeling miserable, both from the running and from the past events, every pore of my body seemed like it was exuding fire instead of sweat and this… this… whatever it was dares to say anything while he didn't do anything?! Talk about calling the kettle! I sunk down on the cold floor, using it for some solace against the dull pain around my lungs.

"S-Shut up… I didn't see you running… you jackass…". I slowly responded, breathing heavily as I tried to catch my breath. I heard the voice snicker at my answer, seemingly carefree with all that happened, he even sounded a bit pleased even! I grunted, trying to make sense of the past events… Instead of getting something light-related, I ended up with something… dark-related? I shook my head. No, that can't be it, I've never heard of darkness being given by the Creator's orb… But then again… I heard the voice hum something, in a relaxing tone. I… didn't end up crazy from the Orb and ended up hearing weird voices in my head… did I?

"Watch your words, boy. I am not weird. I am not normal, agreed, but I am better than normal!". The voice proudly answered. It seemed it can hear my thoughts as well, how… irritating.

"You are hearing the voice of Demoriel, once the Demonic Emperor of the North. Now… I am just a voice in your head so I guess you could say you are getting crazy! Ha!". The voice seemed to be in a good mood, it seems, contrary to my miserable state.

"Demonic Emperor of… ? You are making no sense…". I replied, having finally caught my breath and pushing myself back on my feet again.

"Neither are you , so what is the difference, hmmm?'. What a witty emperor. Just how I didn't like them. The voice snickered. He seemed to be amusing himself, feeling my miserable situation.

"Fret not, boy! Your life has only just started, and with me at your side, you can't go wrong, promise!". Demoriel said, his deep voice echoing in my skull. I grunted, rubbing my temples. I might have acquired a headache just listening to him… Where were painkillers when you needed them?

"Yeah, I don't think so! One, my name is not 'boy', it is Julian. And second, you ruined it! This was the moment my life was to be determined by that orb and you went and botched it! Now, the army is after me and the entire teacher squadron wants me 6 feet under!". I yelled to the sky, my voice bouncing of the concrete walls surrounding me. The voice only grunted before sighing.

"Listen up, Julian… You can and will be so much more than those white-feathered peacocks. With my guidance, you will change the world. If I hadn't intervened when I did, you would go on to become a small gear in the system, while now, you can become the crank that makes the whole thing move in the first place! As a matter of speech, of course, I do not want to be part of being a crank for real!". The emperor was quite pleased with his own words, judging from the small snickering sounds he produced. I rolled with my eyes, trying to keep my mind in check and prevent myself ramming my head through the wall to get that voice out of my head! I sighed and looked at the grey sky. What now? I had a demon inside of me…

"Wait… Did you… did you say you were a demonic Emperor?". I said to myself, knowing he could hear it easily apparently.

"Yes, that's right. But why do you ask?" was the reply.

"Then… Are you a Tenebris-user ?". I asked. I was disappointed first, but being a Tenebris-wielder might be interesting… I had a book on those spells lying at home, and they seemed way more powerful than Luxor or normal elemental spells. The voice laughed inwardly, proud of something.

"Ha! Is that what they decided to call it now? No, I am not a Tenebris-user as you called it…I am something much, much more…. Exciting, if you will. Due to me being an extremely high-ranking demonic entity, I have access to something those Angelic numbskulls won't ever get nor touch: The demonic spells!". Demoriel expected me to be impressed…. Which wasn't the case. I heard him grumble about something while I was left speechless. Demonic spells, why didn't hear about these before? I thought demons were something from fairy tales, used to scare children into their beds! Not… real entities that act the same as the Angels!

"Yeah, I am sorry to ruin your excitement but… I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about and… it seems we need to talk later!". I said before jumping behind a set of wooden boxes, hearing four bullets fly above my head. They aren't shooting with rubber bullets, that's for sure! I looked behind me, and after seeing no one, I made a mad dash towards the end of the alley and turned right. I heard some voices behind me, making me run even faster. A quick look around me told me that I was not far off from my home. Hearing the soldiers behind me, I decided to make a beeline for my house. I had decided something. This city… had ceased to be home for me.

I couldn't stay here. They would hunt me down, and I thought we had evolved from being mere animals to more sensible creatures! But it seems we couldn't help ourselves.. I sighed and quickly ducked, hearing metal clicking noises behind me and hearing the whistling noise of metal bullets flying over my head. Yep, definitely couldn't stay here! Encouraged by the fear of getting shot, I started running even faster, racing down the streets. I hurriedly thought of the nearest exit and began directing myself towards it. I raced past many people, pushing those in front of me out of the way which garnered many angry looks. But their gazes quickly changed into being terrified when they saw the soldiers chasing me. I took a quick left turn and then a right one through some back alleys, hoping to lose the army. But deep down, I knew that it was a lost cause. Using some Tier 2 –spells like SoundDrowner to easily drown out all sound except for my footsteps and Echolocation, they could easily keep track of me. A loud bang made me flee my thoughts, before a sharp pain shot through my body. My right hand instinctively grabbed my left shoulder tightly, feeling a hot liquid seep through my clothes. I grunted in pain, falling on one knee. Looking at my hand, I concluded it wasn't all too bad… yet. I heard footsteps in front of me, followed by a dozen of soldiers, firearms at the ready. Some even were even readying some spells, I could see the signs forming above their hands, their faces contorted in concentration.

"Hmm… This is less than ideal…" Demoriel spoke again. I clicked my tongue, my eyes rolling inside their sockets.

"Yeah, thanks for nothing, Mister obvious!" I bit my lip. Now what? If I waited too long, the other soldiers would catch up to me, encouraged by the words of this squadron… If I was too hasty, I would certainly be shot, for no reason but having a demon inside of me. It was not like I asked for him, you know!

"No, you didn't ask for me… However, I think you'll find me a much better companion those freaks! Now, allow me to … just give a sample of what demonic emperors can do! Prepare yourself, boy Julian!" The voice announced, grunting. I wanted to ask what I needed to prepare for, but a wave of something spread across my body. It was cold , freezing cold! It was like my blood was freezing over. I couldn't speak, my voice lost in my throat. I could feel my body stiffen up, my head forced to look up at the sky. It felt like solid hands of power held my body in their iron grasp, rendering me immobile. A second wave of power, rushing through my veins. This one felt even colder than the first, making me feel like I was breathing liquid ice. I grunted in pain before my eyes started burning. They started changing colour. From a clear blue to all kinds of colours, ranging from a dark red to a light green and a dark brown back into my original colour. I grunted, the pain and cold subsiding again. Gasping for air, I stumbled slowly on my feet as the soldiers slowly closed in. I rubbed my head, my hands almost freezing.

"Sorry, that pain is necessary to unlock the doors to the Demonic Magic Pool and the Archives… Now, show them what a demonic emperor can do!" Demoriel said, his voice changing tone easily due to his excitement of the situation. First, I didn't know what to do but then, in a flash… A sigil. I recognized it, yet it was so unfamiliar at the same time. It looked like three triangles, the top of two attached to the bottom two points of the third. If you had a bit of imagination, you could see a spearhead in it… spear… My hand raised itself in front of me, palm directed at the soldiers who stopped. Letters appeared in my mind, encircling the two triangles, forming small words I could not read yet I understood them. Glacies…

"Ha, do you think you can stop us with such a measly measure, deranged lunatic?! You are nothing under our Lord's Will, and you shall be reduced to nothing as well!" One of the soldiers said, readying a simple Tier 1 – Fire manipulation spell, Flame Ball. I felt my lips curling into a smirk as I began moving my fingers to draw the symbol appearing crisp in my mind, my mouth repeating the words that Demoriel whispered in my mind.

"I, who ruled over the demonic realms… I, who shall stand again… I, who ruled over all deities of the North… I, whose name is to be whispered by the damned… I, who is called Demoriel and used the frigid ice of Limbo to destroy eternity declare that the frosty wind of the Underworld shall blow once again!" The words weren't cold yet or the symbols I drew in the air began shining in a cold blue. The words I had seen earlier in my mind began running around the two triangles. A weak line encircled the figures, completing the chant. I breathed heavily. They never told you that magic was so draining in school! I grunted and found my focus again, the insignia moving closer to my fingertips. The soldier who had insulted me earlier yelled loudly, the insignia he created shattered and summoning forth a ball of fire of about 15 inches in diameter. It flew with a decent speed towards me, just at the moment my fingers touched my own created insignia. It shattered in a million pieces, but instead of disappearing like with the insignia of the soldiers, the shards got absorbed through my skin. For a second, I felt a rush of power and ice race through my veins. I also thought I could hear the sound of a breaking chain deep inside my mind. Must've imagined it… A cold breeze caressed my face, two spearheads forming, one on each side of my head. They weren't sharp and only slightly bigger than the fireball flying towards me, but they will do the trick just fine, I thought!

One flew straight into the ball of fire, neutralizing it before landing on the floor and shattering in a thousand pieces. The other one made its way towards the soldier, hitting him square in the face. He fell 2 yards back, seemingly knocked out cold. The shattering noise of ice hadn't died down yet or other soldiers prepared their rifles and began creating other insignias. I could see the brown of Gaea-spells , the red of Pyrius-spells, the dark blue of Aqua-spells and the green of Ventum-spells all at the same time. I was too tired, unused as I was to the practice of using magic, to conjure up more ice spearheads. I braced myself for the inevitable pain that the spells would cause when they ravaged my body. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see what spells or tiers they would be using to ransack me. I heard the signature sound of tongues of fire getting shot, feeling the heat on my face. If I survive this, I might be sick… First freezing cold, and now warm! Too much temperature-switching for my liking! I heard loud screams, my body going tense as I prepared for impact.

"Well, well… An Infernius-wielder…"I heard Demoriel comment, causing me to cautiously open my eyes. I saw a dancing tongue of flame dance right in front of me, causing me to jump backwards in shock. The soldiers were even more surprised when countless pillars of flames rose from the concrete, grabbing their stomach and throwing them quite high up in the air before letting them smack down again. And then up again. The once proud men and women were now reduced to mere playthings of the flames that threw them up and let them fall down only to repeat the whole process again. I stared in awe at the spectacle. At first, I thought it was angelic magic but there was a weird purple hue surrounding the tongues of flame, something unnatural yet something… comforting for my mind.

"Hmm…? Yes, Yes, I know! Hey, Julian, let's leg it!" Demoriel's mumbling snapped me out of my shock, making me run forward. One pillar of fire went down just as I approached it. I quickly rolled underneath a falling soldier and left them behind. Their shocked screams were proof the flames were not yet done with them. I breathed heavily, running through countless alleys again when I finally saw one of the entrances to the city. A huge concrete wall encircled the city, protecting it from would-be assailants. Each entrance was made in the shape of a tower that harboured a destructive turret. Critics said that they were the pinnacle if the union between Angelic magic and human technology. They shot bullets that created magic-nullifying fields to counter any of our neighbouring countries, who only used magic in their armies.

I looked in front of me, seeing some soldiers lazily looking around while they leaned on their long-barrelled shotguns. I sped up even more, my muscles burning as they protested against every move I made. I grunted, eyes focused on the exit of the city who turned on me. Soldiers finally caught up to me, yelling loudly to get the attention of the guards who protected the gate. I clicked my tongue, seeing the men and women in front of me react to the noise behind me. They quickly moved to ready their rifles while one was running at the device that controlled the whole system of the gate. The insignia of the Icicle Spearheads, as I decided to call them, appeared in the forefront of my mind once again. I reached out my hands, drawing the two triangles in front of me. However, I wasn't really in it with my mind, focusing on the three soldiers in front of me. Due to that fact, I drew a third triangle as well. I heard a chuckle coming from the deep voice of my demonic companion.

"Yes, that is the way of the demons! Use the rules to create your own reality before breaking the rules and becoming much better! You seem to have a slight knack for this, Julian!" He said. I was happy to hear my name coming from him, at least, but had no idea what he was talking about! The two icy spearheads appeared once again beside my head, but a cold breeze on the top of my hair made me look up while I was running. I stumbled when I saw a third spearhead form. A cold breeze circle round and round, clumping the moisture in the air together and making a blunt clump of ice that resembled a spearhead. I stretched my hand towards the scrambling soldiers before me, the clumps of ice taking off. One landed on the side of a soldier, knocking the wind out of her and throwing her a couple of yards away. She groaned, still conscious while the other rammed the control device of the gate, rendering it useless. The third uselessly spat in a million pieces against the concrete wall. The magic shards of the insignia got absorbed back into my body again, the rush of cold helping my muscles to work even harder. I was pleasantly surprised! At school, we learned that spells couldn't be modified a they were designed that way by the Creator… Well, I just proved them all wrong! I laughed, both from the stress and the shock of my new… magical companion, a demon.

My laugh was gone quickly when I saw the remaining soldier readying her rifle, putting a pair of bullets into the barrels. Having no other choice, I just kept running. The solider readied herself , her aim was getting steadier. There was absolutely no chance I could get to her before she fired, and there was no dodging in this open and wide street!

"Hmm? Julian, dodge sideways!"Demoriel suddenly said. I was so shocked that I jumped in fear, almost having forgotten about my companion and how deep and loud his voice actually sounded. I was glad I did, because a fireball with the size of a couple of yards shot past me. The air rippled behind it, a purple hue enveloping it before smashing into the soldier. Instead of smacking against the target, like my blunt clumps of ice did, these balls incinerated their target. The soldier screamed, dipping their head in a bucket filled with water. That created the opening I needed. I forced a last ounce of power out of my body, running through the gate and out of the city. I looked back for one last time, seeing the soldiers blocked by a high wall of fire. It roared over their screaming voices, asking support units and reinforcements as soon as possible. I scoffed. I straightened my coat, the long sleeves at the back waving around my legs as I turned around. I took a deep breath, my feet in the mud. In my mind, I said farewell to the city who tried to hunt me down and walked over past a hill. The city disappeared from my sight while I walked out into nothingness. Where should I go?

I had nowhere to go. No relatives, as I was a mere orphan for as long as I could remember. Never knew my parents. Never had anyone to go to and always been the loner. Had not that many friends and those I did have went away sooner rather than later. I slowly stopped running, walking and then stopping. I sat underneath the graceful shadow of a full-grown tree. I sighed. Leaning back against the sturdy stem, I gently closed my eyes and tried to get my thoughts in order. I had a demon inside of me , instead of an angel… named Demoriel, and he seemed to be the emperor of the North whatever that meant… I was seemingly considered a dangerous element, confirmed by the army soldiers being after my ass. So… what now? I had no idea…

"If you want, you can travel with me for the time being." A womanly voice sounded behind me. I gasped loudly, my eyes jumping open as I hurriedly scrambled to my feet. I turned around, my vivid blue eyes looking into dark red eyes. Long, curly brown hair framed an intelligent face. A beauty mark right above the right corner of her red-painted lips. A black dress that was held up with an ornate clasp made of a silvery metal behind her neck with an… acceptable cleavage. Ahem. The dress was cut so that her smooth, stockinged legs were shown each time she took a step. She wore 3 inch heels. I could see something shimmering when she took a step right behind her heels. It took me a second to realize those were small daggers. And now that I realized that, the clasp to hold her dress looked remarkably like two throwing stars… The pin she used to neatly hold her hair in a long , curly yet stylish ponytail closely resembled an awl, actually…

"Are you … an assassin?" I asked carefully, knowing it was a stupid question. The woman in front of me laughed heartily while shaking her head.

"Ha! No, no, I am not an assassin. If I was, I would've murdered you a long time ago… demon." She added. I gasped. How did she…?

"I told her! You can thank me later." There he was again. Demoriel, emperor of the North. I grunted, scratching my head as I really had no idea what they were talking about.

"She is… Well, you can see her as a fellow demon. She is the current vessel of Asmodeus, the demoness that is responsible for lust, love and desires of that kind! She was a general in my entourage before we were all locked into these forms you hear now…" Demoriel revealed, leaving me speechless. That made the woman in front of me laugh yet again, probably when seeing my dumb face…

"Well… I wanted to say that but better late than never, I suppose! Yes, that is right. I am a demon, just like you. You can call me Melissa, or Asmodeus. But I prefer my own name, you can understand! I am an Infernius demon, but can control other elements as well!" That made even less sense! I scratched my head, staring dumbly at the newcomer. Normally, people could control one element , two elements at best! And even that would take too much time so people mostly focused on mastering only one! But it seemed demons are another case entirely… How curious, I thought.

"It will all become clear eventually, don't you worry! But to return to earlier… You are always welcome to join me to travel… Although I have absolutely no idea to where, ha!" Mellissa proposed, snapping me out of my private thoughts. I thought about it for a bit. On one hand, it was indeed true that I had no one to go to, nor had I a destination to look forward to… Yet, could I trust her? Melissa seemed to guess at my inner conflict and snorted.

"I didn't help you earlier, only to find out you distrust me and gain nothing with it!" The brown-haired woman said. I looked at her. If she really was the one who helped me earlier, then I could trust her. Without a doubt. However…

"Okay, can you show—" My sentence was cut off my a massive ball of flame racing past me and smashing into the trees behind me and burning them to the ground. A mere second after that, I felt something cut my face. When I looked behind me, I saw a small, silvery blade stocking out of the charred ground. One blade had disappeared from her left heel as well! I gulped. Nodding, I conceded. This was a woman you couldn't trifle with. At least, if you didn't want to be burned to a crisp!

"…O-Okay…Uhm…Yeah, I'll… come with you…I suppose…" I answered, dumbfounded. I rubbed my face, finding that the bleeding has stopped already. A minor cut, I suppose. Melissa smiled at my answer. Not that I could say anything else, but fine… I rubbed the blood of my cheek, looking at the woman in front of me. She gazed back at me with intelligent eyes before turning her back to me and walking down the hill. I hurriedly followed her, my long coat waving behind me.

"Any idea where we could go?" I asked. Melissa nodded, walking behind some bushes and grabbing something. She returned with two backpacks, one of which she threw at me. I grasped at the object and strapped it around my chest. From what I could see, something resembling parts of a tent hung on her back along with some water bottles. Mine contained the same, probably. She really thought ahead, didn't she? I looked at her, not knowing what she was thinking before she pointed behind me, at the thick forest.

"We… are going out of the country! It is not safe here for us demons, you have experienced that for yourself, haven't you? So, we have to get out of this country as soon as possible! Due to the tense relations between the countries, the land of the Elves would be a nice spot to be in right now!" She said, walking towards the dense forest.

"Elvaria? Why there? They are not the most receptive to humans, you know…" I commented while following her.

"Yeah, but if you have any better idea , I would love to hear it!" Melissa retorted, making me shut up. I didn't .

"That's better, now let's move!" Those were her last words before she vanished into the dark woods. I closely followed her, not really sure if I had made the right decision. Then there was another matter, that of my uncontrolled magic. Blunt lumps of ice are good and all but if I wanted to defend myself… I really had to get better at controlling my magic…

"Oh, don't you worry! I have you covered on that front! I will teach you!" Demoriel said, making me jump a little. That earned me an amused smirk from my female companion. I grumbled. We went deeper into the forest, the trees surrounding us from every side. It was kind of suffocating, really… Melissa came walking beside me, digging in the breast pocket of her dress. She fished a leather-bound notebook out of it, handing it to me.

"Use this to write the spells you come up with to memorize them, okay?" She said with a gently smile, walking past me again. I slowly nodded, putting the notebook away and continuing the walking trip.

Finally, about what seemed days, we finally found a small clearing. Roots covered the mossy ground, creating a very uneven surface. I clicked with my tongue, looking around. I felt none too safe with these shadows thrown by the thick canopy of the trees surrounding us. But Melissa seemed happy, and seeing that I didn't want another fireball, we decided to make camp here. Using a spell I didn't know existed, Melissa made a small fire. She was apparently sure that the forest wouldn't burn down, contrary to me.

"Well then, you watch our stuff. I need to catch us some meat!" She said. Before I could reply, she had already disappeared behind some trees. My complaints got stuck in my throat and ultimately swallowed while I looked up. The evening sky, orange and beautiful, looked down at me as the last sunrays filled the clearing. I leaned backwards on a trunk, trying to rest for a bit to recuperate from the past events. But someone had other thoughts about that…

"Up and at them, lazy-bones! Now seems a perfect moment to train!" Demoriel's voice boomed through my head, easily waking me from my rest. I sat upright again. I had to find out if there was a 'turn off' button on this guy somewhere. I grunted, listening to his explanation.

"Now, demons have slightly different rules than angels, as you can imagine! We are, as they say, nothing. Quite depressing, I know, but hear me out! Due to the… current state of this world, Demonic magic works differently. You may have noticed that the magic insignias you created broke apart before being absorbed back into your body? That's because we can't create infinite magic like angels can. This world is theirs, so demons are naturally at a disadvantage! A second thing you should always keep in mind is weaknesses. Demons and angels alike have the inherent ability to channel elemental magic, however there is always a bit that remains in your body after channelling the element. During that time, you are extremely vulnerable against the counter-element. For example, I am a Glacies-demon. If you use Glacies spells, like those lumps of ice, you are vulnerable to Angelic and Demonic spells of Ventum, got that?" I tried to get that all-in my mind, but only half of it stuck. I grabbed some charcoal, prying bits off of it. It looked like a pencil now, somewhat. I shrugged my shoulders and started scribbling in the small notebook Melissa gave me.

"Okay… so we are at a disadvantage at about… anything? Is there anything good by being on the demonic side?" I asked dryly. Demoriel sounded shocked when he replied again.

"Of course, there is! One, you aren't bound by limiters. Angels have limiters so they can't go out of control. It seems the Creator is afraid of his subjects revolting against him, the weakling… Secondly, we can modify our spells to our own desires. Angelic magic follows a strict set of rules and can't be modified. Demonic magic can be modified as much as we desire. It even gives us the possibility to create stronger spells than anything angels have ever seen! It all depends on your ability to work with the elements, of course." Demoriel said, sounding very proud of being a demon.

"Of course, you still need to grasp the basics of Glacies before you can jump to other elements! So, hand in front and focus!" Demoriel ordered, forcing me to oblige. I grunted, raising my left hand in front of me, palm directed to the darkness surrounding me. I felt a cold breeze slowly coming to speed. It surrounded me, caressed my face. While it did feel cold, I didn't shiver. Instead, it felt like I was getting wrapped in a comfortable albeit freezing blanket. Frowning my eyes, I saw some letters flying around. Weird. I slowly placed my hand on the ground, unable to hold it up. The cold surrounding me seemed to push against every inch of my body, forcing my hand towards the wet moss beneath me. When I made contact with the soft ground, I felt a very small rush of power racing towards my fingertips. It was tiny, nothing like I had felt before.

"Hmm… Okay…" Demoriel commented, causing me to open my eyes. This caused the cold around me to dissipate. I looked at my fingers. Very small circles ran along the tips of my fingers, in the same dark blue colour as before. They cracked before shattering and being absorbed into my body again. They left very small, clear bits of ice, not even freezing my fingers on the floor.

"What the hell? Why could I summon ice spearheads earlier?" I asked myself, but the answer didn't come from me. Well, not entirely.

"I forced it earlier. I forced the elemental magic through your veins, feeding the insignia I implanted in your mind."

"Well then, can't you do that all the time?!" I replied, slightly annoyed.

"No. You need to become better on your own. If I force too much, your body may just end up disintegrating, your soul crushed to dust forever… You don't want that, do you?" Demoriel replied. I quickly shook my head. I sighed. For a second, I thought this was going to be easy!

At that moment, I heard rusting behind me. I quickly turned around, but relaxed when I saw Melissa with two rabbits on her back. They didn't need to be roasted anymore, already deliciously scorched by her powers. I nodded to her, brushing the already melting ice of my fingers and walked towards the fire. Melissa cleaned some wood by showering them with small flames and scraping them with a pocket knife she carried in her backpack to make some crude plates. She cut up the rabbits with relative ease, scorching them with a long tongue of flame before handing one to me. We ate in silence, partially due to me not knowing what to say and being socially awkward whenever women were around… I groaned loudly when I finished my meagre yet filling meal. I felt sleepy, my eyes feeling heavy after all the events I went through earlier…

"I see you are ready to go sleep… and it seems it isn't going to rain tonight. I propose we could sleep like this!" Melissa said as she grabbed her stuff and lied down at the edge of the clearing. She used the trunks, a blanket and the moss to make a curved bed. I gulped and moved to the opposite side of the clearing but…

"Where do you think you are going…?" Melissa's voice cut through the darkness. I quickly turned around, her dark red eyes shimmering in the dancing light of the campfire.

"Well, I… I thought of giving you some privacy! Yeah, that's right!" I quickly answered. Melissa snickered slowly.

"That's nice of you and all but don't you think we need to be closer to be safe? After all, you can't control your magic very well to protect yourself! And if they send army spies or soldiers, I may not be able to react fast enough to protect you! So come on over, lie down beside me!" She said, patting on a spot near her. I gulped. D-Did… she really just say that…? I hit my cheeks several times before walking over to her, cautiously lying down on her left side. The woman slowly nodded, before turning around. Quickly, her soft breathing sounded beside me. I decided to just sleep in my clothes on a blanket just like her.

I looked up at the night sky, countless stars shimmering in that immeasurable darkness. I sighed and turned on my side, my head resting on a dry piece of moss. What kind of life will I live now, I wonder…?


End file.
